Refinery dispute ends

Ending months of controversy that pitted Hidalgo against Guanajuato and the PRI against the PAN, Pemex announced that the new US$10 billion refinery will be located in Tula, Hidalgo after the state assembled the required parcel of land. As a consolation prize, the Salamanca refinery in Guanajuato state will get a US$3 billion upgrade. Pemex had long preferred the Tula location on technical grounds. Jesús Reyes Heroles, the CEO of Pemex reaffirmed the commitment to the refinery, while cautioning that nothing was going to happen quickly. Pemex does not expect to put out the bids for the new refinery until 2011, and it will not begin operations for several years after that. (Universal 7/13)